And smelting ores



(No Model.) v, l Y 2 Sheets-Sheet. 1.

J. C. NBWBERY, J. L. MORLEY & B; CLEVELAND. L PURNAGB PoR REDUGING ANDSMELTING DRES.

10.30.3586. Patented Aug. 12, 1884..

(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

J. G. NEWBERY, J. L. MORLEY 8v B. CLEVELAND.

FURNAGE FOR REDUCING ANDSMBLTING ORES. No. 308,586. PatentedAug.12,1884.

I A v /.QQZMZ UNITED STATES PATENT Ormes..

JAMES COSMO NEVBERY, JOHN LISTER MORLEY, AND BARRY CLEVELAND,

' OF MELBOURNE, VICTORIA.

FURNACEFOR REDUCiNG AND SMELTING GRES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 303,586, dated Augustl2, 1884.

Application filed A11-gust Q5, 185'2. (No model.)

To all whom t may concern,.-

Be it known that we, J AMES COsMo NEW- BEEY, analytical chemist, JOHNLISTER MOR- LEY, gentleman, and BARRY CLEVELAND, gen- 5 tleman, allsubjects of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Melbourne, intheBritish Colony of Victoria, have invented certain Improvements inFurnaces for Reducing and Smelting Ores, of which the following is a 1ospecification.

Our invention relates to certain improvements in furnaces for reducingand smelting metallic ores, especially those which form oxides orcompounds that may be reduced by i 5 heated charcoal-such as ores ofantimony, bismuth7 copper, tin, and zinc; and it consists, essentially,in a furnace wherein there are a rire-chamber, a flue, and areverberatory re ducing-hearth, and interposed or extending 2O throughsaid flue, but not in internal communication therewith, a' series ofsmelting pots,

chambers, or crucibles, open at bottom overV an independent hearthprovided with a tap hole and an independent flueconnection with 2 5 thechimney, said crucibles being at top outside the furnace and providedwith luting cover.

One part of the 'device shown in the drawings (relating to theproduction of oxides from 3o sulphides, arsenides, and other oxidizableores) consists of a hearth on which the raw ore is treated. When the oreis easily fusiblesuch as sulphide of antimony-the method of treatmentdiffers from that of ores not readily 35 fused. In the case of sulphideof antimony the'hearths in use usually consist of a solid surface with atap-hole in some convenient position for drawing off the fused sulphide,which is then smelted in a crucible or a furnace.

' 4o The hearth shown is not solid, but has holes or perforationsthrough it, which allow the fused sulphide to pass onto a solid bed un!accomplished by smelting them in a furnace so constructed that the draftis downward through the oxides in process of smelting and through theca-rbonaceous material used in such proc-css. The furnace is soconstructed and arranged that the heat from one iire is utilized forroasting the ore, perfecting the oxidation, and producing the metal fromthe oxide.

In order, however, that the invention ma)` be clearly understood, wewill now refer to the drawings hereto attached, in which- Figure l showsa longitudinal section of the furnace; Fig. 2, a plan View; Fig. 3, acrossvscc` tion of the reducing part of the furnace on the line c a inFig.2, and Fig. fl a cross-section of the liquating or oxidizing part ofthe furnace on the line Z) b in Fig. 2.

A is the fireplace, and A the fire-bridge. B B are tubes or cylindricalchambers iliade of hre-clay and closed with caps B B. Bf arecircumferential grooves on tubes 'B Il, adapted to receive the caps B B.Vhen said caps are placed in said grooves and luted and a thick layer ofsolid carbon placed in the bottom of the tubes, a small per cent. ofcom-` bustible liquids or gases may -be used, which will be more fullyhereinafter described. B'l is the bed of this part of the furnace. B istheiiue fromA the bottom of reducing part of the furnace into theprecipitating chambers or fiues, and BL the entrance intotheoxidizing-cham` ber. C is the perforated hearth of the roasting orliquating chamber, and D the solid bed underneath. C C arefeeding-doors, and C2 cleaningout doors. D is also a cleaning-out door,and D2 the escape-fine to the prccipitating flues or chambers.

The mode of operation is as follows: The fire having been lighted in A,and thc ncc- .essary heat having been attained, the hearth C is suppliedthrough doors C C with the ore to be treated, and the doors are closed.The tubes or cylindrical chambers B are then charged with the oxide tobe smelted and with the carbon necessary for the purpose, insubstantially the following way: First, there must be a thick layer-say,one foot-of the carbonaceous material (such as wood charcoal) at thebottom, then a layer of, say, six

IOO

inches of oxide, and then another layer o'f, say, two inches of carbon,and so on7 until the tube is filled, so as to provide sufficient carbonto reduce the oxide to metal, as is Well understood. As the contentsdescend, they are replaced by fresh oxide and carbon in similarproportions, the caps of the tubes being left off until there is no morematerial to treat, when they are put on, so as to prevent the possibleescape of injurious gases, and to prevent unnecessary waste of material.The heat from the iire A plays around said tubes, then passes through Binto the liquating-chamber, and when fusible sulphides are being treatedit fuses them, and they run through the perforations of the'hearth Conto the solid bed D. The heat then passes over such solid bed, andfinally is conducted through escape-iiue D2 to the precipitating` iluesor chambers. (Not shown.) As the heated current passes over the solidbed D, it carries with it the oxide that has been formed thereon, and inorder to facilitate the production of this oxide the door D is openedsufriciently and as often as may be required; or heated air may besupplied to the bed D through pipes. The oxide in the tubes B becomesheated to such an extent as to be reduced by the carbon present, and,passing through the carbon at the bottom, is discharged as metal ontosolid bed B, from whence it runs through tap-hole '135 into a properreceiver. Combustible gases or liqnids-such as hnwlrocarbon7 hydrogen,or car- Ainvention and the manner of performing saine,

We would have it understood that what We believe to be new, andtherefore claim as our improvements in furnaces for reducing andsmelting metallic ores, especially those which form oxides, or compoundsthat may be reduced by heated charcoal, is-

l. A reducing and smelting furnace comprising the furnace-chamber A,reducingchamber C, and the si'nelting-retorts B, interposed between saidchambers, and provided with a separate hearth and tap-hole, all arrangedin the manner set forth.

2. A fire-box, A, flue BL, and roastinghearth G, combined with a hearth,BZ, openbottoin reducing-tubes B over said hearth B2, provided withbiting-grooves B, and covers H, and due B3, substantially as described.

3. A reducing and smelting furnace comprising the fire-chamber A, thereducing chamber C, and the open-bottom smelting tubes or retorts B,hearth B2, and separate ilues B, as shown and described.

J. COSMO NEVVBERY. J. L MORLEY. BARR-Y CLEVELAND. \Vi tnesses:

EDWD. bvrnus, WALTER SMv'riIn BiivsroN.

